


An Evolving Relationship

by ladyoneill



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Character Study, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-19
Updated: 2013-08-19
Packaged: 2017-12-24 00:01:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/932656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyoneill/pseuds/ladyoneill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the defeat of the daroch, the Sheriff confronts Peter and they have a long chat about a lot of things, that leads to more talks, drinks out in the evening, coffee in the mornings, and they find they have a lot in common, more than just the supernatural, which all leads to a kiss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	An Evolving Relationship

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anassa_anemou](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anassa_anemou/gifts).



> I love Peter. I love the Sheriff (the recipient and I both agree his name should be John). I had fun writing them together! We go from the present into the past and then back to the present, denoted by ~~~~

The lips on his are firm, a bit chapped, not at all hesitant. He startles, but doesn't try to pull away. 

It's been a long time.

A tongue licks at the crease of his mouth, then stills, waiting.

He parts his lips and returns the kiss.

Hands find his back and he's pressed against a surprisingly hard body. The ill fitting uniform doesn't do the other man justice. His own hands go from hanging uselessly in surprise to cupping strong hips. 

The kiss ends and their eyes meet, both unsure, until he nods bravely and, a bit shorter, tips his head back and eagerly opens for the next kiss.

Had John seen this coming? Seized the moment after the latest near death experience?

Peter hadn't seen it coming at all, but he's not going to let the moment pass him by.

~~~~~

The sheriff attends the first informal pack meeting after the defeat of the daroch and the momentary truce with the Alpha Pack. They have no Alpha--Scott's eyes still fluctuate and Derek's remain a sorrowful blue--but they meet at the loft simply for the space. Everyone is feeling their way and Peter sits in his usual spot on the stairs and watches. Melissa coming in with Scott isn't really that much of a surprise.

John Stilinski's arrival with his son is. 

With the Argents, the humans equal the number of wolves--it's obvious that Lydia isn't sure where she fits--and it makes Peter nostalgic. His old pack always had humans to keep them all on an even keel.

The meeting goes surprisingly well. Derek mostly cedes the floor and the leadership to Scott--the boy always was a better Beta than an Alpha. The Sheriff asks well thought out questions. Stiles, as always, flails a bit, obviously uncomfortable with his father there as well as relieved the secrets are out.

After an hour or so, they wrap up and Melissa and Chris Argent head out so the kids can order pizza and watch movies--Peter can tell Derek feels both put upon and happy about that. Not wanting to eat greasy food or watch whatever gore fest or sock it to 'em movie is popular at the moment, Peter rises to slip out, only to find John Stilinski at the bottom of the stairs.

Peter stays on the last step for the height advantage and forces himself not to cross his arms over his chest in any kind of defensive posture.

"Mr. Hale, I've heard a lot about you over the last couple days, most of it extremely confusing and contradictory. Want to clear up your official missing person report?"

It's not a request, though politely stated. Over his father's shoulder, Peter sees Stiles waving his arms and talking furiously at Derek who just frowns at the younger man and shakes his head. He could tune in, but he's certain Stiles is asking Derek to intervene, probably ranting about the zombie infecting his dad or something equally amusing.

"Can we do it over a bottle of wine at my place?"

"I'm more of a beer drinker."

Peter smiles, all teeth. "I have a six pack of micro brew."

"That'll do."

As they leave together, he hears Stiles' squawking and smirks.

*****

"Cozy place you have here," John, as he asked to be called since he's off duty and not sure how official any of this can be, says as he starts on his second beer sitting at Peter's kitchen table. "Stiles believes you live in a crypt somewhere."

"Your son has a vivid imagination." Peter takes a bite of cheese from the plate he laid out and leans back. "So, are you going to arrest me?"

"I should." The law officer is there in the tautness of the jaw, the steeliness of the eyes, but he just sips his beer. "There's no way any of this could go to court, though, is there." It's not a question and Peter just nods. "Even if it could, from what I've heard, you'd have a pretty strong insanity defense."

"I've seen enough of the inside of hospitals. I'd prefer to stay out of the mental ward, thank you very much."

"Well, as I said, I'm pretty sure I can't charge you with anything. I'd be laughed out of my job and put my son and his friends at risk." John frowns and absently picks at the label on his bottle. "I understand the desire for vengeance. I've seen it a few times before. It's destructive but then, in a way, you were destroyed, right?" Peter simply nods again, intrigued by where this is going. "I should punch your lights out for turning my son into an accomplice to murder, for biting two children against their will, but, again, if reluctantly, both Stiles and Scott said you were insane or brain damaged or both."

"I was. I didn't recognize it at the time or the month I spent haunting Miss Martin, but after I came back and got my bearings, I realized there was a difference inside me, a clarity of thought and purpose. I was finally healed. There was brain damage, my medical charts should reflect that. It healed slower than my body."

"And, again, admitted reluctantly by the boys, since your return, you haven't done anything criminal just, in Stiles' words, creepy."

Peter feels himself grinning. He does like the boy. "Your son is...well, definitely the wittiest of the bunch. He keeps me on my toes."

"Me, too," John says, a small smile quivering on his own lips, but then he goes stern again and drains his beer. "Why didn't you bite him the night of the dance?"

"He really did tell you everything. Hm, well, I think I was coming back to myself. I had a moment of lucidity. Yes, it would have been easy to bite him, but our pack, my family, always offered. I'd rebelled against that in my youth in an indiscretion I will always regret, and I bit both Scott and Lydia against their wills, but Stiles was and is a challenge. He deserved to be asked. Not that the others didn't, but, again, not in my right mind completely."

"I'm glad you didn't." There's relief and gratitude in the man's eyes that makes Peter want to squirm. Instead, he gets up to fetch another two beers. They both open them and drink before he speaks again.

"While Stiles would have made a strong wolf, he's so much more important. He would have lost that spark."

"The emissary thing, yeah. I'm not sure I'm happy about that."

"I'd be surprised if you're happy with any of this, John."

The sheriff sighs and nods, then reaches over to close the file he'd opened on the table purely for show. "I'll come up with some reason for you to be officially not missing."

"That's much appreciated. I've rented this place under another name and my available cash reserves are almost depleted. I haven't been able to access my accounts or the insurance proceeds. Thank you for changing the determination to arson, by the way. I can get double from the insurance company for that." At John's look of confusion, Peter shrugs. "We always knew murder was a possibility. Our life insurance policies and the policy on the house had larger pay outs for non-accidental deaths."

"Does Derek know there's money?"

"Derek inherited a sizeable trust fund on his own when he turned eighteen and he has his parents' money as well, though he'll have to share that with Cora."

"Then why does he live in a not even half-finished loft in an empty building with furniture that looks like it was dragged from the dump?"

Peter chuckles. "Why did he live in the burnt ruin of our house or an abandoned train station? The boy is a martyr."

"Kids."

*****

That first meeting led to others. John is inquisitive--there's a reason he's a good detective--and intelligent. At first he comes to Peter with supernatural questions, but after a month or so, with the Alpha Pack still lurking but not making a move, they start meeting for drinks out in the evening and sometimes coffee in the mornings before the Sheriff goes to work. Their conversations shift from werewolves and druids and magic, to books they've read, tv shows they've enjoyed, the town they both grew up in and love. They find they have a common love of classic rock music and good beer, hunting, and rare meat cooked on a grill.

As they grow comfortable with each other, they argue over politics and art--well, John has little appreciation for the latter and Peter just enjoys a good debate with another quick mind over the former.

And, eventually, they talk of their losses.

Peter remembers Claudia Stilinski, her vivacious laugh, her penchant for bright colored skirts and bare feet. A gypsy, John calls her, sorrow in his eyes but a smile on his lips as he remembers.

And Peter remembers that she really was one. Stiles didn't get his abilities, his gifts from nowhere.

Haltingly he talks of his own wife and daughter, both dead in the fire. His darling mate was pregnant again when she burned. He'll never know if the cub was another girl or a boy.

Nearly three months pass and the two men become friends, companions, and then the Alphas strike.

~~~~~

Their lips part again and John lowers his head to Peter's shoulder, breathing hard against his neck, and Peter's hands roam up the broad back of the man in his arms, and murmurs, "Is this a 'we survived' thing?"

It ended less than an hour before, the final, brutal battle with the Alpha Pack. In the end, Derek had the demon wolf's throat in his teeth but, not wanting to become an Alpha again, he let Argent kill him. Peter himself had felt no need for that either, although he knows that the kids always suspected he was just biding his time in order to kill one of the Alphas. Kali slunk away and, in the end, the twins sided with the Hale Pack.

It was finally over and, outside of a few slowly healing wounds and Stiles' sprained ankle, they survived. John invited Peter home for a drink and they barely got inside the front door before the kiss.

John snorts and shakes his head. 

"No." The sharp answer is accompanied by a nip of teeth and Peter bends his neck instinctively, growling softly in pleasure and submission.

He'd been a lousy Alpha. John is as much of a human Alpha as one can be, and Peter's wolf is content with that.

But, he has to know. 

They'd talked about their wives, the few women before them, but John never mentioned any men and Peter never shared his own proclivities in that direction.

"You're over thinking it," John huffs in amusement and turns his head to capture Peter's lips again. "Yeah, we survived and no one's badly hurt and I am relieved over that, but I've been thinking about this for a while."

"Kissing me?"

John lifts his head and cups Peter's face, looking down into his eyes. "Doing a lot more than that." But, then hesitance crosses the other man's face and his hands slide away. "Did I get this wrong?"

Peter grabs his wrists, bring his hands back to his face, and smiles. "No. Just surprised me. Maybe a mention that, oh, by the way, I like guys, might have been appropriate."

There's another snort of amusement and another kiss that leaves both men breathless and shaking a bit. "You could have said something, too."

"To the very manly sheriff?"

"I did go to Berkeley, you know. It was the '80s. Lots of experimentation going on."

"I'm a werewolf. Most of us are innately bisexual. It's the person that counts and, John...you count," Peter says softly.

The amusement and wariness leave John's face. "For me, too."

Their lips meet again.

End


End file.
